WORLD ECONOMIC ROUNDTABLE and BLOOMBERG TV Debate on America's Debt

WORLD ECONOMIC ROUNDTABLE and BLOOMBERG TV

Debate on America's Debt

Does America's government debt pose a risk of a future financial crisis? Or does the fact that the United States has the world's principal reserve currency and a large productive economy make it immune to the kind of sovereign debt crises now afflicting Euro-zone economies?  Is there a danger that the normalization of interest rates will drive up America's debt burden and crowd out economic activity? Or is the greater risk one of the continued imbalance of global savings and demand that will depress interest rates? To get answers to these questions, the Economic Growth Program hosted a World Economic Roundtable debate on the hotly contested topic of "America's Government Debt and the Bond Market." The debate pitted the team of Lincoln Ellis of Astor Janssen Partners, Constance Hunter, and Peter Tchir of TF Market Advisors, who argued that current debt levels leave the United States susceptible to a crisis against Daniel Alpert, Westwood Capital, Steve Blitz, ITG Investment Research, and Jay Pelosky, J2Z Advisory, who together made the case that the United States is not in any danger from a sovereign debt crisis. The two Roundtable teams also took the debate to Bloomberg TV.  Watch the debate here (part I) and here (part II).

MORE ON THE ECONOMIC GROWTH PROGRAM New America's Economic Growth Program aims to chart a path through the post-bubble world economy by advancing pro-growth policy reforms and bringing innovative solutions to the forefront of public debate.